What I Learned - Week 2

 There were several focuses to the material presented in week 2.  In addition to reading research and the stages of action research, we learned about how to construct (and deconstruct) a research article. 

I found the dissection of the Journal of Research in Music Education assignment to be very enlightening.  By analyzing the article step by step, I was able to see what works and what might not work in an academic research article.  The aspects of the research article were also discussed in the Phillips reading for the week.  This helped my analysis greatly.  While I am fairly comfortable with my APA citation, I am curious if it was done correctly because of the number of authors presented.  I felt the abstract (according to the details presented) was missing a few elements such an actual research question.  It could be argued, though, that although it is not presented as a direct question, it is implied through the abstract.  I found the introduction, review of literature, and purpose to be very thorough and provided a good foundation for the research.  I have struggled in the past with reviews of literature, and I found this example to be a good model from which to draw ideas and guidance.  I found the method of research was described thoroughly and I appreciated the detail to which the authors  presented their methods.  They also analyzed and discussed their results thoroughly and their data tables were well constructed.  Overall, I found this article to be a very good example of an academic research presentation and I took a lot away from it.

I thoroughly enjoyed my discussion on action research with my classmates.  We each approached our respective problems differently, but many aspects were similar.  For example, Andrew (David) and I both suggested that we would look to our colleagues for suggestions relating to our sight-reading concerns.  In addition, we both planned for multiple sight-reading assessments throughout the testing process.   I felt that it was important to break down the problem to something specific, syncopation in this case. 

While discussing Andrew’s post, I felt compelled to bring up something I had read about in the Mertler text, research ethics.  While research ethics generally deals with how subjects of a study are treated and how honestly the results are reported, I believe this carries over to the quality of the education the students receive.  Andrew suggested taking a “control” group and a “variable” group.  My concern is that if the students in one of the groups show no improvement or growth and do not meet state standards for reading music, then the students have not been served properly because of the study being conducted.  I am anxious to spend more time on this topic and hope that we are given the opportunity to discuss and debate research ethics. 

I felt that this week’s lessons really gave us the opportunity to apply what we had learned from the readings.  The research review also provided me with a stronger understanding of the structure of a research article and I feel less overwhelmed by the prospect of creating one of my own.  I have begun thinking of potential research topics.  Since I work in a virtual environment, I am leaning on some type of technological topic, but I am concerned with how research of this manner could be conducted in a virtual environment.  I am looking forward to exploring my ideas further in the coming weeks.